Health authorities in the central province of Quang Ngai said on Monday they had revoked the private work permits of two doctors responsible for a spate of maternal deaths at the province general hospital.

The decision strips doctors Vo Thi Bich Van and Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, from the ob-gyn department at Quang Ngai General Hospital, of their rights to perform medical services outside the public medical facilities they will now be working under.

Van was transferred from the province's leading healthcare facility to a provincial center for pregnancy healthcare.

Earlier on July 31, Quang Ngai health authorities had removed Van from her position as deputy head of the hospital's ob-gyn department.

The two doctors were found "not fulfilling professional procedures," which caused the deaths of Nguyen Thi My Hanh, 39, and her baby on April 30 due to fetal distress. The report said the two doctors were responsible for the deaths.

Van was also blamed for the death of 29-year-old Tran Thi Van Anh's newborn baby due to severe respiratory decline.

Health authorities earlier had placed Huynh Ngoc Thanh, head of the hospital's ob-gyn department, on 12-months probation for "poor management."

They said he had allowed physicians and nurses be inattentive, leading to the death of another woman, Le Thi Huong, 23, and her newborn baby, on April 20.

At least 19 maternal deaths have been reported across Vietnam since April, including three women in Quang Ngai. Huynh Phan Thanh Tung, 33, died while giving birth at a district hospital in the province on June 9.

Maternal fatalities have also been recorded in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.